A Pet Obesity Task Force, the first of its kind in the country, has been launched at the European Pet Obesity Conference, hosted by Hill’s Pet Nutrition to help tackle the growing number of obese and overweight pets and put in place strategies to help overcome the condition.

The Task Force hopes to raise awareness of the growing health implications of obese and overweight pets, such as diabetes and osteoarthritis. The fact that pets are obese or overweight is often overlooked by owners and the group also aims to encourage them to identify weight problems and seek appropriate advice from vets.

Mark Evans, chief veterinary adviser at the RSPCA, who will be sitting on the board, comments: “We’ve been trying to treat and prevent pet obesity for 20 years, but the problem hasn’t gone away. In fact it seems to have got worse despite everyone’s efforts. It’s incredibly frustrating. So, is there any point in fighting on in the same old way if we’re not winning the battle?

“Let’s take a step back, review our knowledge, re-evaluate our approaches, think outside the box and innovate. What could we learn from social scientists, human psychologists and others engaged in trying to tackle the very same problem in people – especially children?”

Members of the Pet Obesity Task Force include:

Mark Evans, chief veterinary adviser, RSPCA BVetMed MRCVS
Professor John Innes BVSc PhD CertVR DSAS(Orth) MRCVS
Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore BSc BVM&S PhD MACVSc MRCVS
Daniel Chan DVM DipACVECC DipACVN MRCVS
Nicola Ackerman BSc(Hons) RVN Cert SAN MBVNA
Rachel Casey BVMS Dip(AS)CABC MRCVS
Dr Ian Campbell GP
Mike Jessop BVetMed MRCVS
Dr Jacques Debraekeleer DVM, DipECVCN
Simon Wheeler Head of marketing at Petplan

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